


what side of love are you on

by aheartcalledhome



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Recovery, Several Sunlit Days, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22041103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aheartcalledhome/pseuds/aheartcalledhome
Summary: a sunlit afternoon turned wrestling masterclass with a sprinkle of feelings
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	what side of love are you on

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this week in the hinny discord is "Have you ever spoken up when you saw something going on that was wrong? Were you scared? What ended up happening?", so naturally, I decided to write some post-war fluff. I figured I've written enough sad things lately, so here's something happy!
> 
> Thanks to Jenorama for organizing this! I love writing for prompts, I just never end up looking for them myself!

There is little place in the world for former child soldiers, but against all odds, Harry and Ginny have found a little copse by a lake far enough from the Burrow that is their secret. Summer feels like summer again, the star bright sunlight coating everything in a buttery yellow glow. The copse feels like home in a way Hogwarts no longer does. No bad memories dog their footsteps. No nightmares lie in wait. It is just Harry, Ginny, and the earth beneath their feet, all the sunlight they can catch in their hands, and all the goodness they'd denied themselves in pursuit of victory. They can write their own stories here, ones with no set beginning or end, ones that stretch through time into a future they cannot see, still obscured by the clouds of uncertainty.

"Do you ever regret it?" Harry asks one afternoon. He is still getting used to how short Ginny's cut her hair, but his thumb slides up and down the shaved sides easily. It feels right, feels like her, feels like a reclamation of all that she is, was, and will be. Sometimes they stand in the mirror and joke about how they match, wearing each other's clothes and shaking messy mops of bedhead out of their eyes. "Standing up how you did?" 

Some mornings, he wakes from nightmares that feel like they'll never end, haunted by a version of himself he thought he'd banished long ago. It all feels so very present, one year on, like the war will never leave him alone, even in brief, fleeting moments of peace. When the summer ends, he and Ginny will go their respective ways -- her to Holyhead, to join the Harpies' senior team full time, and him to his books, preparing for a Mastery in Defense. It feels final, in a way even the threat of being separated forever by Death didn't. It feels like change is coming, and even remembering it stops him cold in his tracks, his heart running wild in his chest. 

"I don't." Ginny sounds brave, sounds strong, sounds like everything Harry wishes to be. "I don't think I've got regret left in me, anymore. Like it's all been used up." She pushes herself up into a sitting position, looks down at Harry with love. The sun hits her face just right, turning her eyes the color of old photographs. "I kind of like it, if we're being honest. Not feeling like I'm constantly apologizing to myself."

"I like it too." He shuffles along until his head is in her lap. "Makes me feel like I don't have to be afraid anymore, if you aren't." He'll have to wash this shirt tonight, but it doesn't matter. He'd fight another thousand wars for her, days and nights with no sleep and nothing but a map with her name on it to keep him company. "I don't think I'll ever feel like everything we gave up was worth it, but... I'm happy we are where we are. I'm happy we made it."

"I think it'd be weird, if you ever felt that it was worth it." Ginny pinches his cheek. "Go on then, Potter. Keep writing me those love letters."

"You've got nice skin." Harry winks. "Is that enough?"

"Oh, come on, you." Ginny pushes him over onto his front, leaning in close enough that he can hear her breathing. Her knees are locked tight around his hips and despite being too close for his comfort to eating a mouthful of dirt, Harry feels like he's flying. "You can do better than that."

"You've got nice arms." Harry's voice trembles, from excitement, or nerves, or something else entirely. "It'd be a shame if you didn't use them to let me go."

"Fine, fine." Ginny laughs, untangling her legs from his to fall back on the grass, face seeking the sunlight. Her eyes slip closed as she smiles. "I'm glad we made the choices we did. They led us back to each other, at the end of the day. Can't thank the universe enough for that one."

"Best gift I've ever gotten." Harry says, warmth spreading inside him from his ears to his toes. "Everything I've ever wanted, really. I don't think I know what a future looks like, without you in it." 

"For what it's worth," Ginny smiles, "I don't think you'll find out."

**Author's Note:**

> come hang out with me on [my fandom twitter](https://twitter.com/tamilprongspttr) if you'd like to make a friend and please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts below!
> 
> -s


End file.
